The present invention relates to a support winch, in particular for trailers of utility vehicles or commercial vehicles, a locking mechanism, in particular a retraction stop, in particular for support winches for utility vehicle trailers, an extension stop, in particular for support winches for utility vehicle trailers, as well as a method for supporting a device, in particular a utility vehicle trailer.
Support winches of the type in question are basically known in the prior art. Such support winches are attached in pairs at the front of semi-trailers or trailers, in particular of utility vehicles, and serve for supporting a semi-trailer or trailer, which has been decoupled from the truck tractor. In the case of truck tractors with air-suspended rear axle assembles, it is usually not required to balance or adjust the height of a front area of the loaded semi-trailer by means of support winches, since this operation can more easily and more rapidly be done by means of the compressed-air bellows of the truck tractor suspension. Therefore, it is in practice of utmost importance to rapidly adjust the supports from their transport position into their support position. However, the support winches known in the prior art do not allow for a rapid height adjustment or their construction is so simple that, although they allow for a rapid adjustment, they do not allow for an individual adjustment of the height. In most cases known in the prior art, a complex gear mechanism is required in order to adjust the height rapidly.
Therefore, the object underlying the present invention is to provide a support winch, in particular for utility vehicle trailers, a locking mechanism, in particular for support winches for utility vehicle trailers, an extension stop, in particular for support winches for utility vehicle trailers, as well as a method for supporting a device, in particular a utility vehicle trailer, which ensure a rapid adjustment from a transport position to a support position, wherein only few crank rotations are required, and which allow for a simple design and an inexpensive manufacture.